third person

American  

[thurd pur-suhn] / ˈθɜrd ˈpɜr sən /

noun

1. the grammatical person used by the speaker of an utterance in referring to anyone or anything other than the speaker or the one third person singular or ones third person plural being addressed.

2. a pronoun or verb form in the third person, as she or goes in English, or a set of such forms.

---

third person British  

noun

1. a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used when referring to objects or individuals other than the speaker or his addressee(s)

---

Etymology

Origin of third person

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

“From the very, very beginning, Chad Bianco didn’t say this was political,” Bianco said, referring to himself in the third person.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The facility struck was a large trailer with walls protected by concrete slabs, but wasn’t fortified from the top, according to a third person briefed on the attack.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

A third person remains missing, although HM Coastguard confirmed the huge search for them was called off at 16:00 GMT on Saturday.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

The third person refers to an aide who allegedly crafted pro-Qatar messages that the other two assistants then disseminated.

From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025

“Don’t nobody even twitch,” the third person now said.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols